Turkish Airlines sustainability score: 24/100
Better than 41% of Airlines / Aviation
Below expectations starts at 31. The highest score on SINK is 71.
Turkish Airlines is the flag carrier and largest airline of Turkey, founded in 1933 and headquartered in Istanbul. Operating a fleet of 400+ aircraft across 330+ destinations, it carries over 80 million passengers annually.
More about Turkish Airlines
The airline is a member of Star Alliance and ranks among Europe's largest carriers by passenger volume and capacity.
Head office TurkeyStaff ~95,000 (inc. subsidiaries, 2024)Revenue ~$22.7B (2024)Website ↗
Turkish Airlines' emissions have risen 19% year-on-year to 27.5 Mt CO₂e in 2023, driven by fleet expansion plans to 800 aircraft by 2033. No SBTi-validated targets, no absolute reduction pathway, and reliance on offsets with credible additionality concerns. ClientEarth and NGOs flagged greenwashing; offset projects include terminated schemes and biodiversity-questionable plantations.
Turkish Airlines scores 24/100 (Significant gaps) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Scores are free. Nobody can pay to change a score, speed it up or hide it. Last verified July 2026.
That places Turkish Airlines joint 903rd of 1,023 companies scored, and joint 12th of 23 in Airlines / Aviation.
What is Turkish Airlines doing well, and where does it fall short?
Strongest on Carbon Footprint: Operations and Transparency & Accountability (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Targets & Commitments (1/10, 2/10).
Where Turkish Airlines lost points
For each question that lost points, the evidence our public rubric looks for that we didn't find.
What would raise this score
- Whether its emissions are fallingShow its emissions are falling.
- Its climate targetsSet specific targets with dates.
- How clean its energy isMove to a renewable energy tariff or make a major efficiency investment.
Every question that lost points
- Emissions from its own operations6/10Its own emissions aren't independently verified or tracked over several years.
- Emissions from its supply chain4/10Most of its supply-chain (Scope 3) emissions aren't measured.
- Whether its emissions are falling1/10No evidence its emissions are falling.
- How clean its energy is3/10No renewable energy tariff or major efficiency investment shown.
- Its effect on nature3/10No assessment of its effect on nature, and no basic environmental policy.
- How it uses materials and handles waste4/10No measurable waste or recycling targets reported publicly.
- Its effect on water3/10No monitoring of water use, or no measures to reduce it.
- Its climate targets2/10No specific targets with dates.
- How openly it reports5/10No dedicated sustainability role, board oversight or public report.
- Its record on controversies5/10Points deducted for controversies or its business model. The finding is under question 10.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Anyone can send us new evidence, free. How to send it.
How is Turkish Airlines's SINK score calculated?
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × ScaleWhat evidence is Turkish Airlines's score based on?
12 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
33% of them were published by Turkish Airlines itself; the rest come from independent sources.
8 of 12 sources are independent of the company.
“Scope 1 emissions of about 20,898,027,000 kg CO2e, Scope 2 emissions of approximately 120,182,000 kg CO2e”
“Since 2016, Greenhouse gases calculated and reported by Turkish Airlines...have been verified by third party verification institutions”
“2023 SASB Report · Supplier code of conduct policy”
“In 2023, Turkish Airlines' greenhouse gas emissions were approximately 27.5 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent, around 19 percent more than the previous year”
“annual greenhouse gas emissions rise to a record 22.98 million tonnes – around 35% higher than in 2018”
“carried out our first flight using aviation fuel obtained from sustainable sources in February 2022”
“In 2023, SAF production was just 0.2 per cent of global jet fuel use”
“Turkish Airlines strives to lead the practices regarding the No Net Loss (NNL) principle in biodiversity and prevention of deforestation”
“-5% improvement in natural gas ve water consumption”
“lack of data related to any decarbonization indicators in aviation (such as carbon emissions, water consumption, waste management)”
“Airlines receiving the warning included...Turkish Airlines among others”
“Turkish Airlines had a high engagement on climate policy with unclear positioning”
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How does Turkish Airlines compare with other airlines / aviation companies?
Where Turkish Airlines sits among airlines / aviation peers.
Among the 23 major airlines / aviation brands we've scored, Turkish Airlines is tied =12th of 23, with 2 others.
Who scores higher in Airlines / Aviation?
The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Turkish Airlines.
Aegean Airlines discloses only FY2022 absolute Scope 1 emissions (1.13 Mt CO2e); Scope 3 is entirely unreported.
See the breakdown →Air France-KLM's absolute emissions rose 17.5% in 2024 despite intensity improvements.
See the breakdown →Lufthansa's absolute emissions rose 16% year-on-year to 42.9 Mt CO₂e in 2024, exceeding pre-COVID levels.
See the breakdown →Which companies moved this week, and why.
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